In the wake of Portugal’s disappointing World Cup performance, coach Paulo Bento has made wholesales changes for the opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania next week.
Ruben Vezo, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Tiba all get their first call-ups, while the return of Anthony Lopes, Antunes, Adrien Silva, André Gomes, Bruma and Ivan Cavaleiro represents nine new faces in relation to the squad that went to Brazil. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the squad because of lack of fitness.
Despite playing in Real Madrid’s opening games of the season, Bento explained that Ronaldo “is not fit to compete, so we opted not to call him up,” adding, “I don’t decide who plays for Real Madrid, I only decide who plays for the Seleção, and the information I have from the medical department is that he is not fit to play.”
Portugal play Albania in Aveiro on Sunday 7 September in the first game of Group I. Armenia, Denmark and Serbia are also in the section.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dinamo Zagreb), Rui Patrício (Sporting)
Defenders: André Almeida (Benfica), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), João Pereira (Valencia), Pepe (Real Madrid), Luís Neto (Zenit), Ricardo Costa (currently no club), Ruben Vezo (Valencia), Antunes (Malaga)
Midfielders: Adrien (Sporting), André Gomes (Valencia), João Moutinho (Monaco), Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kiev), Pedro Tiba (Braga), Raul Meireles (Fenerbahce), William Carvalho (Sporting)
Forwards: Vieirinha (Wolfsburg), Bruma (Galatasaray), Éder (Braga), Ivan Cavaleiro (D. Coruña), Nani (Sporting), Ricardo Horta (Malaga)
